Thursday, 4:30 PM
Salute planned for Finneran, foundation
By Frank Phillips, Globe Staff
Former House speaker Thomas M. Finneran may have left office under the cloud of a federal investigation, but the Massachusetts political establishment remains loyal to him.
A group of old friends and colleagues, led by one of Beacon Hill’s most influential lobbyists, Robert F. White, plan to hold a tribute dinner Sept. 25 at the Fairmont Copley where they hope to raise as much as a quarter of a million dollars to help Finneran launch a charitable foundation in his name to support some of his favorite local programs and educational scholarships.
White, a close friend to the former House leader, said the strong support for the event from top political, business, and community leaders -- including Governor Deval Patrick, three former Republican governors, and US Senators Edward M. Kennedy and John F. Kerry -- sends a strong message that Finneran’s extensive State House record dwarfs the federal perjury charges that dogged him at the end of his public career.
"Whatever misconceptions the federal government had about this man’s public life will be assuaged by the public demonstration for this event," White said. Tickets are priced from $2,500 to $10,000. "This is long overdue."
In October 2004, as a federal grand jury probed his testimony in a case challenging a House redistricting plan, he resigned as speaker to become the president of the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council. In June 2005, he was indicted on perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
In an agreement with the US Attorney’s office in early January, Finneran pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in exchange for federal prosecutors’ dropping perjury charges. He was sentenced to 18 months unsupervised probation and fined $25,000. His plea prompted his resignation from his $500,000-a-year Mass Biotech job.
